Page 94 of Tempting Her Dragons

“Roxanne,” she says, turning her head on King’s chest.

“Yeah, Saphy,” she answers, stepping forward.

“She didn’t hurt you, did she?” she asks, a catch in her voice.

“No, you protected me,” Mom says.

“I couldn’t allow her to touch you,” Saphira says.

“She tried to hurt you?” I ask Mom.

“It was just a threat.” Mom strokes Saphira’s head. “Saphy took care of it.”

“Yes, she did,” Sally says. “Girl, you were beautiful.”

Saphira laughs shortly. “Thanks.”

“I’m really fucking sorry,” Sally says.

“Why?” Saphira frowns.

“We shouldn’t have gone there. I wish my gift would work all the time. My visions don’t come when I really need them.” Sally hugs her arms to her chest.

“Hey,” Saph says, leaving my brother’s arms. She stops close to Sally. “You didn’t know. None of us did.” They embrace tightly.

“I’m good,” Sally says, patting her back and then pulling away. “We should be comforting you.”

“I’m fine,” Saphira says and then sways.

“You used a lot of energy,” I say gruffly, wrapping my arm around her.

“We need to get you home,” King says.

“Let me hug her before you take her,” Bishop says. He gently wraps her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’m sorry you had to go back there,” he whispers.

“I didn’t let it drown me in memories,” she says. “I love you, brother.”

“Love you, too,” he responds and moves away so Laken can embrace her.

“Proud of you,” Laken rumbles.

“Thanks,” she rasps. This process continues as River chucks her on the chin. His mouth is smiling, but his eyes are haunted. Micah hugs her tight and releases her when Daisy steps close. Micah, Ryker, and Bash look at us seriously, communicating with their eyes that we need to watch for the effects of her captivity. Heath was the last to come and is the last to move forward, and I tense. He used his cane once, taking off the head of a human, and distantly watched us kill the rest.

“Brave,” he says, holding out his hand. I don’t want Saphira to touch any male, but at least almost everyone else is mated. I’m grateful he didn’t attempt to hug her.

Saphira accepts the offering. “Thanks for coming, Heath.”

“I didn’t have anything else to do,” he says, letting go and moving away. Everyone else nods or smiles but doesn’t come forward. We would be here for longer than I would like if they all comforted her.

“We will stay and take care of what’s left of the bodies,” Laken offers.

“Thank you,” I say, pulling Saph close. She rests her head on my shoulder as I guide her to the car. I’m thankful someone drove, knowing we may need to transport Saphira if she was hurt.

“Mom,” King says. “Can you and Sally come with us?”

“Of course, hon,” Mom says.

Saphira is quiet as I open the back door of the car and settle her in the middle. I follow her in and buckle her seat belt. King gets in the other side. Mom gets behind the wheel, and Sally takes the passenger seat. Saphira claims my shoulder and swings her legs over Kingston’s lap. She grips our hands, and I kiss her head.

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